ECE News Story

In Memoriam: Huiping Xiang

In Memoriam: Huiping Xiang

Dear ECE Faculty, Staff, and Students,

We learned yesterday of a tragedy that has taken the life of one of our promising graduate students, Huiping Xiang. We are deeply saddened by this incident and we have been meeting with friends and family to best support individuals touched by this loss. Below you will find a letter from friends and family of Huiping that is being distributed to share with you what has happened and how you can support his wife, family, and friends at this time.

A memorial fund has been established to help support Huiping's family. Contributions may be sent to:

Chinese Student and Scholar Association (CSSA)

c/o Mr. Chao Wu

2158 A. V. Williams, Institute for Systems Research

University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742

With memo "Huiping Xiang Memorial Fund."

You may also contact Dr. Dan Balon (AVW 2437, x5-5407, dbalon@umd.edu) to make a contribution. In addition, the Counseling Center has offered their services for any faculty, staff, or student (contact Dr. Arnold Medvene at his direct line 301-314-7661).

Please offer support to his friends and family in anyway that you can. If you have any questions or wish to provide support, contact Dr. Balon (AVW 2437, x5-5407, dbalon@umd.edu) at the Graduate Studies Office or my office and we will gladly assist.

With the deepest sorrow, we report to you the loss of life of a promising Chinese Ph.D. student from University of Maryland at College Park on October 21, 2005. Huiping Xiang died in a car accident in Beltsville, Maryland, while he was driving back home in the rainy night. The police are still investigating the causes of the deadly accident.

Huiping Xiang earned a bachelor’s degree in Engineering and Economics and graduated with the highest honors from China’s Tsinghua University in 1996 before coming to the United States in 2000. He received his master’s degree from Polytechnic University in New York in 2002, and was later admitted to the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at University of Maryland. Besides the good progress he's made in his academic study, Huiping also had a very broad interest in literature and history. Huiping was an amicable person who always brought laughter to his friends. Sadly, he died so young, leaving behind both his career aspirations and the hopes of his old parents, who now live in the rural Li County, Changde City, Hunan Province in central China.

The tragic accident has caused tremendous sufferings to his family. His wife, Daifeng Han, another graduate of Tsinghua and doctoral candidate at University of Maryland at College Park, has not recovered from the traumatic shock and deep grief. Friends, classmates and colleagues are now helping her make all the posthumous arrangements, including inviting Huiping's parents to the United States for their son's funeral.

We call for your help in whatever forms. Huiping doesn't have life or accidental insurances. Although his wife just started a new job, with her limited income, it will be very difficult for her to support herself and the old and ailing parents on both sides. They are now facing severe financial distress as you could imagine. Your donations, coming in the time of urgent needs, will be used for the purposes of providing grants for:

1) A decent funeral service in memory of Huiping Xiang;

2) Passport, visa, and travel expenses for the trip of Huiping's parents to the United States;

3) Support to Huiping’s parents if there is any unspent fund.

We hope you can help distribute this message to your friends and colleagues. The Chinese Graduate Student Association at University of Maryland has set up a special account for your donation at http://umdcssa.org/help-huiping.

Checks should be made payable to "CSSA", and please write "Huiping Xiang Memorial Fund" as the memo and mail it to:

Chinese Student and Scholar Association,

2158 A V Williams, Institute for Systems Research

University of Maryland

College Park, MD 20742, U.S.A.

You may also contribute through PAYPAL to: huipingdonation@gmail.com or visit:

If you wish, you may write directly to Huiping's wife, Ms. Daifeng Han, at daifeng_han@yahoo.com. Huiping's parents, sister and wife, as well as we volunteers, all appreciate your kind help in their most difficulty times.

If you have any questions, please contact Chao Wu, President of CSSA at wuchao@umd.edu.